The Death of Didyme
by MrsMojoRising
Summary: A quiet talk between brother and sister before Aro...you know. The title says it all really.


Authors Note: Thanks to Pace is the Trick for being my beta on this.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or their world

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She stood silent and still, her red eyes gazing towards the crackling, spitting bonfire that burned brightly in the distance. The sound of his light foot reached her ears before she felt his touch on the back of her gown.  
He moved closer and placed his hands on each of her shoulders, his face hidden in her lush, raven black hair as he kissed her tenderly.  
"Dearest sister, you really must not deviate from the guard. It is not safe, we're not in Volterra now."  
"Have your guard not destroyed them all?" she asked, sure in the response as she knew well the efficiency of the guard.  
"Our guard, my dear. Our guard." he corrected her with a smile  
"Your guard, brother. Marcus and I will have no more need for it soon." She turned to face him, a look of happiness on her face.  
"Ah, but until then, they are 'our' guard."  
She laughed airly. "You are silly and stuck in your ways, darling Aro. I shall miss you when I'm gone."  
"As will I, sister" he whispered, stroking her cheek. "I knew to find you here. You were always so drawn to fire."  
She sighed and turned her attention back to the light in the near distance "There is such beauty in it. Beauty in the destruction. The death of something old and stale and it's rebirth into something new and exciting."  
"A phoenix from the ashes?"  
"Yes. That is how I feel, brother." She reached her hands behind her to take hold of his, bringing them around her waist until his fingers intertwined. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "I felt it when you returned to me...when you gave me this new life, this new world. I feel it now, in talks with Marcus, in our plans."  
Her happiness was overwhelming and he buried his face in her hair again.  
"You are so set on going?"  
"Yes"  
"And nothing I can say will convince you otherwise?"  
She startled and turned to look at him closely.  
"Are you not happy brother? Are you withdrawing your blessing?"  
"No, my beloved." He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes "It is true, I do not wish to see you go. I will miss you, as I would miss my right hand, my heart. I do wish you would reconsider, but if it's your truest wish, my blessing you still have."  
"Thank you, Aro." She kissesd his cheek, failing to catch the sorrowful look on his face. "I shall buy you wonders from all places we travel. And write you often. It'll be like I never left."  
"If only…" he added in an inaudible whisper which he quickly masked by speaking again. "Your gown, dearest. Its hem is getting dirty from the ground."  
She looked down and pulled the dress up slightly before allowing it to fall back to the ground, where it gathered more dirt as she rocked her hips and laughed.  
"Just like when I was a child. Playing in Pompeii." She looked at him again "When you would watch from the shadows, I would know you were there; you were hidden from view, but I knew. I felt you. I would tell mother and she would cry. Tell me I was a sweet girl, but I was silly for thinking such things, wicked for saying them."  
"You looked so happy then. So like mother. It pained me to leave you both. That's why I returned as soon as I knew you were old enough to be turned." He sighed. "If only it hadn't been too late for Mother."  
"Perhaps it was better this way. If I was wicked for saying such things, how wicked do you suppose she'd think us both now?"  
"You were never wicked, Dearest."  
"Oh, but I am! Fiendishly so. I want to go to the nearest village now. My dress isn't as dirty - as bloody as it could be," she smiled slyly. "It makes Caius happy. He delights to see me all bloody and dishevelled. Parthenope or Aello, that's what he calls me."  
"I am well aware of Caius' thoughts towards you, dear one."  
"Oh, don't, Brother! You know I love Marcus, and Marcus alone," she scolded him.  
"Be that as it may, but there was a time when Caius wanted you for himself."  
"I am fully aware of that. But then he found Athenodora. And is he not happy?"  
"Yes, of course he is. But you know how he is, how he gets at times."  
"Well do not worry, brother. Ours is a mild flirtation..."  
"I did worry. But not now."  
"Now that I am going…" she finished for him.  
"Yes," he said softly, closing his eyes tight, "Yes, now you are going."  
He moved closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, and rested his head against hers, eyes shut tight.

Seconds ticked by as he tried to hold onto the moment, capture its memory for eternity.

He repeated to himself that what he was about to do, he was doing for the greater good.

The world would be chaos if not for the services he and his guard performed. But with each repetition, the words seemed increasingly hollow.

V*V*V*V**V*V*V*V

The fire burned with intensity, crackling and spiting and the sound of his light footfall was lost as he retreated backwards into the shadows


End file.
